When Andrew Durniat shakes your hand, you know it. The 34-year-old personal trainer from Wooster
has one of the strongest grips going, proven by his three national titles in “grip sport.” Durniat,
who at 6 feet 4, 235 pounds is small for his sport, will put his vise-lock powers on display at the
Arnold Sports Festival during the Mighty Mitts Grip Contest, which features competitors closing
coil pinchers and lifting heavy weights with handles the width of soda cans.

Question: What kind of background prepares a person to get a grip, so to speak?

Answer: Having large hands helps in most cases, but the other bit we see are just “workingman’s
hands.” I worked on hand strength when I played lacrosse at Ohio Wesleyan, but I grew up framing
houses and doing lawn and garden work. Tendons and ligaments make up the majority of the hand, and
they take longer to grow and develop than muscles. So hand strength is not something you develop
quickly.

Q: But increasing hand strength by training is still important?

A: Fat-handle dumbbells are a great tool, and coil spring grippers are another one. And rope
climbing is good, too. Those thick school ropes that hang in the gym.

Q: Coil grippers? You mean those things with handles you squeeze that have been around since
forever?

A: Yes. The typical spring grippers on the shelf at Wal-Mart probably require 20 to 25 (pounds
of pressure) to get the handles to touch. The No. 3 “Captains of Crush” gripper we use requires 150
pounds. The No. 3 set is the standard for hand strength. For a while they thought it was
uncloseable, but now if you want to say you have strong hands, you better be able to close the No.
3.

Q: I understand the way you win a strong hands medley competition is to successfully complete 10
stations of varying grip difficulty. And ties are decided by who finishes the fastest.

A: They are very challenging objects to lift. It’s going to take all 10 to win. You’re going to
see a lot of sevens and eights out there. If you miss something, you can go back and retry, but you
may not get it the second time, either.

Q: Because of fatigue?

A: That, and also nerves and the bright lights of the big stage and a 50-foot Jumbotron. I’ve
prepared myself to go through it as fast as possible. But at the end of the day, you have to be
strong first.

Q: I have to ask: How often do you get the “What a strong handshake you have”?

A: It’s a daily deal. I hear, “Ever broken someone’s hand shaking hands with them?” I haven’t,
but when opening bottles sometimes, we’ve broken them when the cap stays on. And I’ve sheared bolts
off when using socket wrenches.